


A Promise to Keep

by macybon23



Category: Layton Kyouju Series | Professor Layton Series
Genre: Azran Legacy Spoilers, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-12
Updated: 2018-04-12
Packaged: 2019-04-22 00:57:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14297271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/macybon23/pseuds/macybon23
Summary: A one-shot. The Professor sees someone he never thought he’d see again (pre-Unwound Future chronologically).





	A Promise to Keep

Everything was silent. He opened his eyes to find himself standing on a verdant grassy knoll. The sun was painfully bright as he studied his surroundings. Only a tree and a bench shared the peaceful green, with nothing else around for miles. His hand reached up above his head, and he breathed a sigh of relief. His hat was still in its rightful place atop his head as always. Looking down at the rest of himself, everything else seemed in order. So why did something seem a bit off?

“Hershel, isn’t today lovely?” chimed a familar voice. He whipped around to see a face he never thought he’d see again. His mouth gaped open as he struggled for words. “Come on, silly. Let us sit and enjoy this weather!” Her slender hand slipped into his, leading him to the bench under the shade of the tree. She was just as he remembered her. She studied his face expectantly from behind her wireframed glasses, her brunette hair gleaming with light red highlights in the midday summer sun.

“Claire,” he whispered in disbelief. She giggled.

“Yes, that is my name.” He remained lost in a trance. “Stop staring at me, silly! Tell me about your day. I’m dying to hear about your adventures as the great Professor Layton.” Though she beamed at him, his heart sank at the word “dying”, an ominous trigger to some distant memory. Everything about this moment was wrong and the reality crashed into him hard.

“Claire... you’re... you can’t be... here.” Her smile faded a bit.

In almost a whisper, she said, “I know I’m gone, Hershel. There’s no need to dance around it. It is you who can’t be here.”

“What do you mean?”

“It isn’t your time yet,” she explained. “Which is why we must make the most of this time that we have here.” She smiled at him with sadness in her eyes as she rested her hand on top of his. “So, tell me about your adventures. Tell me about the little boy that travels with you.”

“Well, that would be my apprentice, Luke. He is a clever boy, the son of Clark and Brenda. He is kind, brave, and sincere, and he can even talk to animals. I’ve grown quite fond of him since he began accompanying me on my journeys.”

She gave him a bright smile. “He sounds wonderful! I’m sure I would love him, too. I bet he’ll make for a fine gentleman when he grows up.” A flash of a memory sent a shiver down his spine.

“Luke... where is he?” His eyes opened wide in alarm. “Claire, the Azrans... the beam of light...” She took his face in her hands firmly.

“I promise you that Luke will be fine, but only if you return to him. Your fates are intertwined, so if you want him to live you must leave.” He shook his head while she still held him. “We shall meet again, someday. I love you, Hershel. And I need you to promise me that when you return to him you will care for him as if he were your own. If we could have had a son, I would like to think that perhaps he would have turned out like Luke.”

“I... I promise,” he said with a quivering voice.

As the tears began to fall from his face, she leaned over and planted a kiss on his lips, which sent a wave of warmth through him. As the kiss pressed on he felt her slipping away from him, the entire scene fading. The panic of losing her again surged and his mind struggled against it, thrashing against the walls of consciousness. He couldn’t... It was no use.

With a horrid gasp he came back to life, and spent a few minutes finding his breath. His eyes shot open to see a high vaulted roof above his head. Groggily he sat up, pressing his palm against his pounding temple. Across the room from him lay the body of his young apprentice, still slumped across the floor where he had collapsed.

“Luke!” he yelled as he scrambled to his feet. Though the room felt like it was spinning, he stumbled the distance and collapsed on his knees next to the boy. He listened for a sound of life, something to indicate that he was alright. But there was nothing. The professor placed his hand against the boy’s face, desperately hoping that he would wake. If the boy died...

A gasp and a coughing fit startled him from his thoughts. A pale faced Luke opened his eyes, and smiled warmly up at him.

“Professor!” he croaked, throwing his arms around Hershel’s neck. A feeling of relief swept over him and he held the boy securely in his arms. Tears welled up in his eyes at the relief of the safety of his young apprentice. Never would he forget the promise he made to his beloved Claire. Until his time came to rejoin her, he would honor her memory by caring for this boy like the son they would never be able to have.

“I’m glad to see you too, Luke.”

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by a post made by tophatcanons on tumblr submitted by askrikkaiandhyotei which said that when the Professor died in Azran Legacy, he got to see Claire once again. I needed some feels beyond feels so I added in the protect Luke part. Luke is too precious not to protect, plus I think Claire would have adored Luke had she been able to get to know him.
> 
> This is my first post to ao3 so please don’t trash it I’m going to have better stuff coming up I promise.
> 
> Follow me on Tumblr @ladylayton23 for more Professor Layton fandom stuff.


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